The late Suikoden creator Yoshitaka Murayama received the crew again collectively for one final job in 2020: a crowdfunding marketing campaign for a religious successor to the beloved Japanese RPG collection raised $4.5 million, the third most of any gaming Kickstarter ever. 4 years later, the crew at Rabbit and Bear Studios has delivered Eiyuden Chronicle: Hundred Heroes, a neat-looking, considerably flawed try and recapture the magic of sitting entranced in entrance of a ‘90s CRT whereas toiling by turn-based battles, serpentine dungeons, and acquainted fantasy arcs.
I’ve put round 7 hours into Eiyuden Chdronicle on PlayStation 5 the place, regardless of its absolute slog of a gap, the colourful retro graphics and comforting rhythms of PS1-era RPGs are starting to win me over. You play as Nowa, a younger mercenary from a rural farming village whose penchant for doing the best factor finally ensnares him in a geopolitical battle with an evil empire. He bears an unmissable resemblance to Tir McDohl from Suikoden 1 and 2, as does a lot of the remainder of the world constructing.
Remasters and Sequels
Whereas Murayama sadly handed away in February attributable to well being issues, the remainder of the crew at Rabbit and Bear Studios says it plans to push ahead with a sequel to Eiyuden Chronicle. Konami can be working by itself remasters of Suikoden 1 and 2, although we haven’t heard any updates on a launch date for the gathering since it was delayed final yr.
I haven’t performed sufficient to say definitively whether or not Eiyuden Chronicle appears like a worthy successor to these classics, or a hole facsimile born of an incomplete reunion tour preventing to show again time. What I can say is that it nails the fundamentals and allure in methods so many different modern copycat makes an attempt can’t. Fight is simple however crisp, the environments are vibrant and colourful, and the pixel artwork cuts a daring distinction with the 3D backgrounds. Outdoors of goal markers and auto-saves, it’s extremely old-school, each in kind and content material.
The nice, the boring, the busted
Just like the Suikoden video games, exploring cities and chatting with random NPCs to recruit dozens of characters to combat alongside you in turn-based battles. Fighter stats and talents are augmented with gear and runes, however battles largely revolve round managing injury output, therapeutic, and deciding when to deploy particular skills and joint assaults. Even when grinding by normal random encounters, it’s nonetheless extremely satisfying to observe every of the six warriors you chose brawl their manner by mob after mob, their expertise level meters filling up slightly extra after every victory.
And although the story is a well-worn parade of clichés up to now, among the writing and character performances are surprisingly expressive. No one talks an excessive amount of, and after they do it’s not often belabored or over-explained, even when what’s being mentioned sounds foolish, generally deliberately so. It’s simply sufficient of an inkling of character to assist me develop an attachment to my burgeoning roster of medieval nerds, goofballs, and ruffians.
Learn Extra: Why You Ought to Play Suikoden II, One Of The Greatest RPGs Ever Made
My moment-to-moment expertise has been fairly good on PS5. I haven’t encountered any main bugs or efficiency hiccups exterior of some sometimes sticky controls, although it’s nonetheless a ache that there are loading screens in any respect. These seem like particularly dangerous on the Swap model of Eiyuden Chronicle. Whereas I haven’t tried it there, early critiques level towards a number of framerate drops (the sport solely targets 30fps to start with), laggy menus, and additional lengthy loading screens.
Some gamers have encountered excruciating bugs, like former Kotaku editor Jason Schreier. A damaged cooking mini-game, tousled random encounter fee, and unrecruitable character had been simply among the points he bumped into on PC. A rep for the sport instructed me a few of this might be addressed in a day-one patch, together with the character recruitment problem which blocks gamers from acquiring the true ending. There doesn’t seem like a full roadmap for upcoming fixes but, although.
I’m wanting ahead to creating my manner deeper into Eiyuden Chronicle, gathering extra characters, and seeing if there are any tips up its sleeve that assist carry it out of the shadows of the artistic crew’s authentic RPG masterpieces. For now it’s been nice consolation meals, like taking part in a misplaced PS1 traditional that simply received a fan translation for the primary time. And for a life-long fan of these gems, that’s sufficient.
